‘Toxic Shot’: Yale Epidemiologist Discusses Book Blasting COVID Vaccines
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In “Toxic Shot: Facing the Dangers of the COVID ‘Vaccines,’” Dr. Harvey Risch and colleagues present evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to 600,000 excess deaths and over 2 million newly disabled people in the U.S.
Dr. Harvey Risch, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, has been a prominent voice challenging the mainstream narrative surrounding the pandemic response and COVID-19 vaccines.
In a recent interview with The Defender, Risch discussed his new book, “Toxic Shot: Facing the Dangers of the COVID ‘Vaccines.’” The book provides a comprehensive examination of the scientific issues surrounding the vaccines, calling them “a global biomedical catastrophe” and claiming they “fail to qualify as real vaccines by any measure.”
Viral immunologist Byram Bridle, Ph.D., co-authored the book and wrote chapters exploring why COVID-19 mRNA shots are not real vaccines, the justification for mass vaccination, the likely mechanisms of immune system harm and the suppression of information about vaccine injuries.
The book contains a foreword by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and chapters by numerous physicians and researchers, including Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Kelly Victory, Dr. James Thorp, Jessica Rose, Ph.D., and others.
The writers explore links between the vaccines and 600,000 unexplained excess deaths and a range of serious side effects, including impaired fertility and over 2 million newly disabled people in the U.S.
“Toxic Shot” highlights the ethical violations surrounding the vaccine approval and rollout process — from the revolving door between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical industry and the “independent” physician reviewers serving on the FDA advisory committee to the funding policies that prioritize profits over safety and the doctors administering the shots without adequately researching and informing their patients about potential side effects.
The folly of ‘boosters after boosters after boosters’
Johnson wrote in the foreword that “even as the COVID Cartel … continues to push [COVID-19] booster shots, the American public is rapidly losing faith in them.” He noted that only 13.9% of adults and 4.9% of children took the boosters as of November 2023.
During the interview, Risch discussed the limitations of COVID-19 vaccines, citing a study published in Science Translational Medicine showing that unvaccinated people who have contracted common colds or COVID-19 have a reduced risk of getting subsequent coronavirus infections compared to those who received the vaccine.
Risch explained that the study’s findings likely stem from differences in T-cell immunity:
“T-cell immunity is the longer kind of immunity, not the circulating-antibody immunity that lasts for 3 to 9 to 12 months, and then declines. T-cells get stored in the bone marrow and are ready to be reactivated when rechallenged.”
Risch said the implications of the study — that natural infection provides broader and more durable protection against various coronaviruses than vaccination — are significant.
He pointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) estimate that as of Q4 2023, 87.2% of the U.S. population already had infection-induced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. “This statistic underscores the importance of considering the role of natural immunity in public health strategies,” Risch said.
This perspective challenges the CDC’s continued push for universal vaccination and booster shots, particularly for people who have already recovered from COVID-19.
“Why are we still all anxious over this?” Risch asked. “Why are we still trying to make boosters after boosters after boosters?”
Spike protein ‘not just an antigen, it is a toxin’
“Toxic Shot” delves into the potential mechanisms behind the mRNA vaccine side effects, including myocarditis, blood clots and neurological disorders.
Risch and Bridle explain in the book’s introduction, “The spike protein is not just an antigen, it is a toxin. It can cause damage throughout the body, including to the heart, brain, and reproductive organs.”
Risch elaborated on this in the interview. “The LNP [lipid nanoparticle] itself is toxic. The biological manufacturing process involving inadequate filtration of possible harmful components can be toxic.”
The authors also note that the mass rollout of the injections resulted in mutations of the spike protein, making the vaccine-produced version of the spike protein much less effective against the new variants of the virus.
They call it “monstrous” that the COVID-19 vaccines were added to the childhood vaccination schedule and attendance requirements of many colleges.
Impaired fertility: ‘We are likely entering a painful period of discovery’
“Toxic Shot” raises serious concerns about the possible effect of COVID-19 vaccines on fertility and pregnancy.
Thorp, after reviewing ultrasound images from 27,000 pregnant women from 2020-2023, discusses “the well-documented adverse effects of the COVID-19 experimental gene therapies on women’s fertility, fetal viability and pregnancy, live births, and maternal health, in his chapter.
He also exposes the “deliberate deceptions” in the “safe and effective” persuasion campaign, especially challenging the call to vaccinate during pregnancy. He contends that the potential risks to fertility and pregnancy were not adequately studied or disclosed before the vaccines were widely administered to pregnant women and those of childbearing age.
The book argues that the LNPs used in mRNA vaccines can accumulate in reproductive organs — a claim supported by biodistribution studies in rats, showing that the nanoparticles are concentrated in several organs, including the ovaries and testes.
“With no long-term safety data and no way to predict lasting impacts on fertility or child development, we are likely entering a painful period of discovery, in which we only gradually learn the full effects of these experimental therapies,” the authors state.
Vaccines decrease immune functioning
A key focus of both the book and Risch’s comments is the potential for COVID-19 vaccines to alter the immune system’s functioning.
“After three to four doses of the vaccine, the antibody response of the immune system gets shifted from an IgG1 [immunoglobin type 1] or 2 response, which are neutralization responses, to an IgG4 response, which is a tolerance response,” Risch explained.
“Tolerance” describes how the immune system reduces its overreaction to certain pathogens, for example, those related to food or seasonal allergies.
This dampening of immune system surveillance could potentially leave individuals more vulnerable to infections and other health issues, including cancer.
The book argues that this immune system alteration is one of the most concerning long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Bridle presents data from public health sources that clearly show damage to the immune system from the modRNA products, including an “apparent increase in likelihood of [SARS-CoV-2] infection among the ‘vaccinated.’”
Vaccine mandates ‘illegal according to FDA law’
“Toxic Shot” raises concerns about the regulatory process that led to the approval and widespread use of COVID-19 vaccines.
Risch critiqued the rushed nature of the vaccine development and approval process, telling The Defender, “I think that the FDA was in cahoots with the security state to push the vaccines.”
He contended that vaccine promoters short-circuited the entire review by “going the EUA [emergency use authorization] route” rather than through the usual approval process.
Risch pointed out that the EUA language specifically said the vaccines were effective for preventing infection, which he interpreted to mean “protecting the vaccinated person from getting infected.”
He argued that there could not be any other interpretation because “the FDA never received any data whatsoever from any of the manufacturers” reporting on the vaccines’ effectiveness in protecting others from infection.
Established FDA law says that “products cannot be marketed for uses other than to which they’ve been approved,” according to Risch, even if doctors can later use them for off-label purposes.
“A mandate that’s asserting that you’re supposed to take the vaccine in order to stop the spread is basically marketing the vaccine for a purpose other than which has been approved,” he asserted. “That’s illegal according to FDA law.”
Risch expressed doubt that meaningful change at the regulatory agencies would come anytime soon. “The federal government and pharma have put so much money into spreading the gospel of ‘vaccinism’ that people are reluctant to risk their careers.”
‘modRNA products must be withdrawn immediately’
Risch and his co-authors make a strong case for immediate action.
“The modRNA products must be withdrawn immediately. Continuing to pretend the ‘vaccines’ are safe and effective, when compelling evidence says they are not, is fatal folly.”
The authors call for the following additional steps:
- Transparent investigation into causal mechanisms of vaccine damage.
- Compensation for vaccine-injured individuals or their surviving family members.
- A pause in the development of mRNA therapies for other human uses.
“Once someone’s eyes have been opened to the truth, it is almost impossible to close them,” Johnson wrote in the foreword. “As more and more people become aware of what has happened, and is still happening, I have to believe truth has the power to overcome lies.”
To read the first several chapters of “Toxic Shot” for free online, visit this page and click on the “Read sample” button below the book image.
